Spiritual Escape in the Adirondacks

Staying sound of mind, body, and soul through yoga

Story by Jennifer Dunkerley

“Yoga is something that has helped in so many ways," says Mary Bartel, a resident of Saranac Lake. "I started it because of pain in my neck and back. Now I’m hooked."

Yoga has helped many people around the country. This exercise, which practitioners claim keeps you physically, mentally, and spiritually fit, is now becoming popular in the North Country.

Bartel, 50, is the owner and director of the Inner Quest Yoga & Wellness Center in Saranac Lake, New York. She started the wellness center in November of 2005 with the hopes it would draw more people to the North Country for peace and spiritual relaxation. She first became interested with the idea of yoga after it decreased her chronic neck and back pain. Bartel said it was a healthy way to keep herself in good shape and knew this was something she wanted to share with other people.

Inner Quest is a day wellness center that offers many different classes, including private and group sessions in yoga, pilates, tai chi, and spiritual stretching. The resort has a psychotherapist on site who does spiritual private and family counseling with its residents. Many people of all ages come to the center because it has something for everyone.

Originally from Long Island, Bartel moved to Saranac Lake and has been living there for the past twenty years. After retiring, Bartel decided she needed something to do with her spare time, and with a degree in business, she felt like it was best to open up a place dedicated to what she loved.

Bartel has been certified as a registered yoga teacher for the past seven years and is working to become certified as a yoga therapist. She started teaching yoga classes part time at the Lake Placid Health and Fitness Center and gained many students. She has also been working four times a week at St. Joseph’s Alcohol and Drug Rehab Center in Saranac Lake.

“I thought it was the best thing to do. This is the only yoga place in the tri-lakes area, and I wanted to be able to pave the way for more places like this.”

Yoga is something that has swept the nation. It has been popular in Burlington, VT, Bartel says, but isn't as prevelent in the Adirondacks. Inner Quest is one of the first wellness centers in the Adirondacks dedicated to this lifestyle. “I thought it was the best thing to do. This is the only yoga place in the tri-lakes area, and I wanted to be able to pave the way for more places like this,” Bartel says.

There are child and senior yoga classes available, as well as specialty classes all week. The resort also has outdoor workshop retreats that can last for a day or can go through the whole weekend. With these workshops, residents can learn the art of the spiritual and physical connection with the outdoors. Inner Quest also offers day and weekend spiritual retreats for their customers. These retreats take residents into the Adirondacks to experience peace within themselves while being surrounded by the beauty of the North Country. There are paddling classes that are available as well as yoga and tai chi practices that are held on the mountains. Inner Quest retreats are a way to free yourself from your busy everyday life, Bartel says, and appreciate yourself in a calm and beautiful setting.

Bartel started Inner Quest with the idea that someday the people of the North Country, and others around New York, would be able to appreciate the peacefulness of the Adirondacks and of themselves through mind, body and spirit. Residents can go out onto the center’s grounds, surrounded by the beauty of the Adirondacks, and stretch and be at peace with themselves. “It is something I have worked very hard at and will continue to work towards. We’re not done yet. I want this art to be an option for more people around the North Country,” Bartel says.

Massages and reflexology sessions are held at the center for people who need to relax and focus on themselves. Jim Hoit is a licensed massage therapist and certified tai chi facilitator at the wellness center. Not only does he hold classes at the center, but he is also a student of Bartel’s. “I’ve been interested in yoga pretty much all my life. I started really focusing on it around 1967. It’s an ongoing interest,” Hoit says.

Hoit has been a certified tai chi and chi gung facilitator since 1999. He has been holding training classes in the fall for students at the North Country Community College for the past three years. Along with these classes he also teaches the students the art of massage therapy in the Japanese form called shiatsu. Besides working at the college, Hoit also teaches classes at the St. Joseph’s Rehab Center along with Bartel. “It’s something that I enjoy doing and will continue to enjoy doing in the future.”

Yoga may be associated with relaxation and a way to keep you fit, but it is also a proven factor in helping with depression and anxiety as well. Diane Vryjack is the resident psychotherapist at Inner Quest and says that yoga is something that really shows a difference in her patients. “Not only is it an alternative form of health care, but it is clearly defined that it balances out brain chemistry,” Vryjack says.

Vryjack came from California four years ago to the wellness center and has been practicing psychotherapy for the past twenty-seven years. “ It is extremely helpful and enables people to empower themselves,” Vryjack says. She also works as a yoga instructor at the wellness center and says that it has helped in group sessions along with talk therapy for people who are suffering from depression and anxiety. Vryjack says that allows people to stay calm in their lives and have a sense of control.

“It is something I have worked very hard at and will continue to work toward. We’re not done yet. I want this art to be an option for more people around the North Country.”

Bartel says she has big plans for the future and wants to be able to expand her center to be able to hold more classes. “I would like to have a bigger staff; right now, it’s just the four of us. That’s my main concern.” Bartel says she wants to be able to make more opportunities available for her staff and customers. For right now, however, they have remained small and have a close relationship with all their North Country residents.

Have you tried yoga?